{ secret hideaway } open

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it was raining, and it didn't matter that raindrops looked like precious stones raining down from the heavens. it didn't matter that they made a beautiful, musical sound as they fell to the ground. it didn't matter that, because of the rain, the air smelled sweet and fresh like nothing else he had smelled before.

turtlekit hated the rain, and, for the last few years, it had been nothing but rain. it made everything wet, the ground, the bedding, his fur. which was why he was looking for a hideaway. he wasn't about to go back into the nursery, not when the queens were sure to scold him for getting a drop of water on his precious pelt.

he smiled to himself as he found the perfect spot in the walls of the camp themselves, a large recess - well, large for a small kit like himself, and certainly large enough to prevent any raindrops from going astray. i can't speak for any cats though, he thought, certain that he could hear nearing pawsteps.

sure enough, the pawsteps were getting louder - closer, and, if turtlekit squinted through the rain, he could see a faint cat-shaped silhouette. 
"hello?" he dared to query, poking his head out only to be bombarded by an ambush of raindrops. 

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Mintkit had been running through the rain toward the nursery, not excepting the sudden downfall, though she should've, since it had been happening quite frequently. She had noticed another cat slip away to a place she had never seen, and decided to investigate.

The other cat spoke. "Hello!" she said back, hoping that the other kit could hear over the loud raindrops.

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hastily, turtlekit pulled his head back in, an mustered a small smile so that the she-kit wouldn't get the wrong idea. "hello," he mewed. curious, moss green eyes travelled over his clanmate, and he allowed his smile to widen as he registered how similar she was, in terms of physical appearance, to him. they were both tortoiseshell, though his own pelt was more subdued, a paler version of her own.

he had to look closely before realizing that she too was green-eyed. again, hers were a little brighter and well, quite frankly, more interesting. at first glance, he saw only pale green, but he soon noticed hints of yellow and darker green. 
"come in," he invited, cracking a brief smile. "it's... wet out there."

[Thornfrost]

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Thornfrost had never liked the rain. It turned his long pelt soggy and made the old wound on his shoulder ache. Iceclan had only just returned to their mountain home, he couldn't afford being bedded down by an old injury now of all times. He expected Fallenstar to depend on him as a senior warrior, one of the last, just as Robinstar had and Wildstar before him. It was a responsibility the tom took very seriously, and so he had been out patrolling the borders when the rain had struck. Needless to say he had hurried back to camp, fearful of an avalanche or melting snow.

The old warrior raced into camp, searching for the nearest shelter. His eyes landed on the newly rebuilt nursery and the forms of two kits finding shelter. A smile crested his face and he headed towards them, also worming his way into the warm den. "By Cloudclan that feels better!" He huffed, giving his tabby pelt a few good licks. His legendary fluffy tail was looking thin and miserable, much to his disappointment. "I haven't seen rain like this in seasons."

MADE BY VEL OF GS

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Mintkit smiled as she was welcomed into the dry space and out of the wet rain. She smiled at the other kit, telling him: I'm Mintkit, what's your name?" She shook her pelt a little, trying to rid it of it's soggy layering.

But before long, another cat joined them in the area. From first glance, Mintkit was slightly afraid. Then she noticed that he was an old warrior. Maybe, while they sat out the rain, he would tell them a story. She squeaked up to him, "Hello, mister!"

((do cats know what a mister is? 😂))

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//probably!

turtlekit glanced up, alarmed when, before him, was the sight of a senior warrior. what's he doing here? he thought, confused as to why thornfrost couldn't find shelter in the warriors' den. a hesitant smile graced his features, and he bobbed his head in greeting. "seasons? how old, exactly, are you?" he asked, genuinely curious. it wasn't until the words left his mouth that he realized the rudeness of the question.

"not that you're old," he added hastily, hoping to fix the damage. a shuffle of paws, and a series of nervous blinks followed. 
"turtlekit," he answered in an almost absent-minded way, but his pale green eyes didn't stray from the she-kit's face. "because of my eyes, i think. they're green." he cringed at every word, wishing that a hole in the ground would open up and swallow him. he really wasn't doing well. 

[Thornfrost]

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Thornfrost purred warmly, though he did back away from the two kits. He was rather large and had no wish to scare either of them, though both seemed curious rather than afraid. It was a comfort to see, and though Thornfrost maintained his distance, he offered them a genuine smile. It only broadened when Turtlekit spoke, and he broke out into laughter. "I am very old, child. Saying as much wont offend me." He had no issues admitting to his age, he had a lot of experience and a lot of fire still left in him. "I had seen many things, and served under many leaders and deputies before you two were born. Though, that just means I have lots of stories to tell." And he certainly loved telling them.

His one blue eye swept from Turtlekit to Mintkit. His other eye, sightless and scarred, was turned away from them, something he did on purpose so as not to scare them with his damaged body. "It is nice to meet you Turtlekit, and you, little one," he murmured, dipping his head to both. "My name is Thornfrost."

MADE BY VEL OF GS

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Mintkit stared at him in amazement. A question had popped in her head a while back, and now she thought she would ask it. "Could you tell us stories of those times?" She smiled and sat down, before adding, "Oh, and I'm Mintkit." Before long, Mint realised she didn't respond to Turtlekit, so she turned to him and said, "Thats cool! I was probably named Mintkit because I always had my nose in some mint, and I slightly smell like mint, but you can't be born with a smell." She giggled a small giggle.

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turtlekit exhaled in relief that the senior warrior had not been offended at his lack of tact, and perked up at his next words. here was living proof of iceclan's rich history, and, as much as he hated to admit it, such things fascinated him. "tell us a story, please!" he chimed in. 

"you might not have been born with a smell," he said threatrically. "but i was born with a shell!" he grinned, and wiggled his haunches. "though, i really can't think of any other reason behind my name. i'm not that slow." he sat back down, glancing up at thornfrost.

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Mintkit laughed at his remark, before looking upon the warrior with wide eyes. Whatever story he would tell, she would give her full attention. She absolutely loved stories.

[Thornfrost]

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The enthusiasm of the two kits was quite warming. Thornfrost could never turn down such an open invitation to tell a story after all, it was one of his favorite pastimes. He was sure Turtlekit and Mintkit would quickly regret it though; he tended to ramble and had many memories stored in his head. "Perhaps you were named for your mottled pelt? It does somewhat resemble a turtle shell." Thornfrost ventured with a smile, not too bothered wit whether he was right or not. "I was named Thorn for my brown fur, and frost for my blue eyes I believe." He blinked his scarred eyes and chuckled. "Or at least they used to be blue, I'm not sure how well they look now." Indeed, his left eye was fine, but had a long scar running down it. The right side of his face was torn, even his ear, and the eye was blind. He certainly wasn't as attractive as he used to be.

"Well let's see....I can tell you the time Deathclan crept into each of the four clans and stole one of their kits. One of them was even named Turtlekit," he offered with a purr. "Or perhaps you would like to hear about the Iceclan rebellion, or the deadly games we were made to endure from Cloudclan?"

MADE BY VEL OF GS

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turtlekit considered the warrior's words. he was probably right; senior warriors were meant to be wise. he did look like a seasoned warrior, what with the heavy scars that marked the right side of his face. he winced, wondering whether they still hurt. "that must have been a tough fight," he commented. the other guy probably looks worse. 

"really?" he exclaimed. "i didn't think my name was that common. were the kits scared?" after all, they had been in the paws of deathclan, which wasn't really a clan. "whoa, a rebellion? deadly games?" turtlekit couldn't decide which story he wanted to hear most, so he angled his ears towards mintkit, waiting for her say. 

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Mintkit had been drawn into the senior warriors words. She was so, in fact, that she didn't even notice that Turtlekit had turned his attention on her. There was an awkward silence when Mintkit made so response. Soon, she took notice that they were staring at her, and she quickly blurted out a response, "Could we hear them all?" That was a stupid response. They definitely didn't have enough time to hear all three of his stories. And so, with an embarrassed look, she corrected herself. "I'd like to hear about the deadly games."

She sat down, (sorry if I already said she was sitting) and curled her tail lightly around her paws like she'd seen the older cats do. It was a comfortable pose to mimic. Then, she looked back at Turtlekit, was that what he wanted to hear?

[Thornfrost]

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Thornfrost blinked with surprise as Turtlekit mentioned his scars. He wasn't offended of course, but impressed by the kit's forwardness. Most other avoided bringing them up, probably thinking he would be offended or traumatized. "From a fox attack," he explained, flicking his paw at the right side of his face. He moved his paw to the left side next, to the long scar running down his eye. "And from my mate. Though we were enemies back then." He left out the part where he had then ripped off Skyfire's tail. That would definitely be too violent.

"I imagine they were very scared. There was Dogkit, Turtlekit, Splashkit and Swiftkit. Only two of them ever became warriors, once they were rescued. Turtlespots and Swiftstep." He knew Swiftstep had left Fireclan soon after becoming a warrior. Dogpaw and Splashpaw had also left their respective clans. He didn't know about the Iceclan Turtlespots though.

"Hmmm well, one full moon night a few seasons ago the clans came together for a gathering, as they always do." His voice was hushed as he tried to recall everything he had seen. "As the clans talked among themselves, who should appear but a Cloudclan spirit, floating above the crowd. Her name was Moonfeather, a very odd Fireclan warrior who died a long time ago." He left out the part that Moonfeather was also headless. He didn't want to give them nightmares.

"Moonfeather informed the clans that Cloudclan spirit were dying...or fading away. There had been so few deaths that the older spirits were ceasing to exist, and the clan of spirits was almost empty." He paused, thinking of the right way to phrase the next part. "Cloudclan asked for seven sacrifices from the clans, who would play seven rounds of a deadly game." Perhaps he should have chosen a less traumatizing story to tell after all. "From Fireclan there were Crystalclaw and Tinypaw, from Treeclan Tuftpaw and Windsong, from Rockclan Silverstripe and Cloudbreeze. From Iceclan, Crimsonsky and Falconwing." He paused with a sad frown, remembering Falconwing. The tom had been one of his closest friends, before he'd died.

MADE BY VEL OF GS

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his eyes widened at the tom's words. from a fox attack, and... "what?" he squealed, flushing at how embarrassingly high-pitched the sound had been. "oh," he added quietly as thornfrost continued. that explains it. otherwise, they wouldn't be his mate anymore! he thought. "turtlespots is a great name," he commented, hoping that his own warrior name would be just as good. his eyes widened and his ears perked as the story begun, already entranced as he was by any story, old or new. moonfeather... it sounded like a very ghostly name, and he was glad that he hadn't been alive so many moons ago. 

"really?" he whispered. "cloudclan spirits can do that?" he glanced down at his paws, wondering whether one day he would be one of them, his fur already faded in colour fading away until he ceased to exist. the thought gave him shivers. "sacrifices?" he had always thought of cloudclan as good, but, now, he wasn't so sure. it was because they were dying, he reminded himself. of course cloudclan was good! they were cloudclan. "did they all die?" he asked, with a little frown.